by Pilar Orero – Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
This year marks the return of the Media4ALL conference to where it started fifteen years ago: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. This conference provides a platform for all stakeholders, from researchers and developers to analysts, audiences and business leaders. The objective is to generate a meeting point where to present findings, developments, ideas and experiences from the multi-faceted world of audiovisual translation and media accessibility and to highlight in particular their technological, social, financial, and academic impact. It is within this context that a round table on “Accessibility for Migrants and Refugees” is organised on Thursday 28th January at 11:00 (CET).
The round table debated issues related to communication and its central place in any human interaction. The objective of the round table in Media4All was twofold: first to widen the scope of accessibility end users to those with language barriers, in this case refugees, asylum seekers, migrants and displaced populations. Secondly to apply media accessibility to new fields of research that of Migrations, History and Sociology. Coordinated by Pilar Orero with guest speakers: María Jiménez-Andrés (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona), Oriol López (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona), Teresa Sordé-Martí (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona), Javier Rodrigo(Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona) and Mikel Zorrilla (Vicomtech).
The round table presented the four H2020 funded projects where communication with refugees and migrants is a cornerstone.
REBUILD (GA 822215) addresses immigrant integration through the provision
of a toolbox of ICT-based solutions that will improve both the management procedures of the local authorities and the life quality of the migrants.
REFUGE-ED (GA 101004717) works around effective practices in education, mental health and psychosocial support for the integration of refugee children. REFUGE-ED will create the Brokering Knowledge Platform of Effective Practices, which will host and promote innovative high-quality solutions tailored for the dynamic integration of migrant and refugee children in schools and more broadly in society.
SO-CLOSE (GA 870939) will contribute to social cohesion and fight refugee marginalisation or exclusion by facilitating encounters between similar life stories, through the mediation of innovative digital and artistic tools. Based on theories of cultural heritage-making, SO-CLOSE will improve social cohesion and promote mutual understanding between refugees and their local communities.
TRACTION (GA 870610 ) will provide a bridge between opera professionals and specific communities at risk of exclusion based on trials, understood as experimental attempts, to foster an effective community dialogue between diverse individuals at risk of exclusion in three very different situations across three counties: Ireland, Portugal and Spain.
